Improved machine por cupping metallic cartridges



. J. POWERS.1

Machine for Cupping Metallic Cartridges.

Patented April H, 1865.

Inventar:

Witnesses:

Jfwegf N. PETEna Phummmmpim, wmhimlw. ILC.

l UNITED STATI-:s

TIMOTHY J. POWERS, OF NEW YORK,

PATENT f `OFFICE;

N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO J. P. FITOII'AND J. R. VAN VEOHTEN, OF SAME PLAGE.

Specificationforming part of Letters Patent No. 47,216, dated April 1l, 1865.

Figure lis a vertical section of the machine.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same with the front plate removed to show the slides which carry the cutting-punch and male cutting-die. Fig. 3 is a plan of the bed and cutting and forming die. Figs. 4 and 5 are vertical sections of the dies and punch on alarger scale than Figs. 1, 2, 3, showing the punch and male clipping-die in two positions.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts inthe several figures.

The principal elements of this machine are a punch and die for cutting out blanks from sheet metal and a male and female die for producing the cuppin g operation, the cuttingpunch also operating, in combination with the cuttingdie or female cupping-die, to hold the edges of the blanks during such portion of the clipping process as is necessary to prevent the metal from being buckled or crimped in that process.

In order to enable the cutting-punch to op crate as above described a very delicate adjustment is required, that it may press upon the blank with just su'icient force to hold it smooth without preventing it from being drawn into the female cupping-die as fast as is necessary, and this adjustment requires to be varied to enable the machine to operate on different thicknesses of metal. As there are practical difficulties in the way of adj usting the punch, I provide for the adjustment of the dies; and my invention consists in the arrangement of the dies upon a table which isadjustable by means of a screw in a direction parallel with the movements of the punches and male capping-die.

My invention further consists in' a novel mode of applying and operating a movable st op in combination with the punch, to gage the plate for the cuttingout of the blanks.

To enable others skilled in. the art `to make and use my invention, I will proceed todescribe its construction and operation. s A is the frame of the machine, in form substantially like that ot" an ordinary punchingpress. p Y B is a table fitted to guides a a on the front l of the frame A, and adjustable vertically by means of a supporting-screw, b. On this table the cutting-die c and female cuppingdie e are supported; These dies, for the sake ot' convenience, are made of one plate of steil, which has a hole, e, Fig. 4cut right through it to form the female cuppingdie, and the l countersinking of this hole a little way produces the cutting-die. f

The bottom of the countersink is made tlat for some distance from itsn sides, but toward the central hole or die, c, itis rounded downward, as shown at 7 7 in Figs. 4 and 5, to folm an easy passage for the metal into the said die in the euppingV operation. The plate of which the dies c and e are formed is secured firmly to the table B by two plates, I, andscrews m on. There is a hole, w, in the table B, under the dies c d is the cutting-punch, having its operating portion of the form necessaryfor cutting out the blanks, and secured by anut, l

f, into a socket formed for its reception in lthe lower part of a slide, C, which works in` suitai ble vertical guides g g, secured to `the frame A, and which receives a vertical movement from a cam, D, on a horizontal rotating shaft,

E, which works in bearings in the upper part of the frame A, and -which has motion imparted to it by a belt running on a pulley, E, `which is fast on its rear end, the said cam operatin g on anti-friction rollers h h, arranged Within the opening or cavity provided in the said slide for the reception of the cam, andthe cam being ofsuchform as to bring down the punch quickly, then allow it to rest for some time before raising it. The punch d is `made hollow by boring it through longitudinally for the reception of the male cupping-diejtwhich fits it snugly, but so as to work easily through it. The exterior of this die is so much smaller than the interior of the female die e as to adsaid slide.

relatively to that of C is such that it will l tion of the machine.

. gag@- mit thc thickness of metal of which the shell or cup is to be made. A partly-formed shell is shown in section in red outlines in Fig. 5. The extremity of the said die t' is sufficiently rounded to prevent it from cutting or tea-ring the blank in the cupping operation. The said die is secured to the lower part of a slide, G, which Works vertically between guides jj in the slide C, and between the said slide and the plate H, which is secured to the front of the upper part of the frame A for the purpose of covering the two slides C and G. The slide G is operated by a crank-wrist or eccentric-pin, 7c, secured tothe shait E, and working in a box, Z, which is arranged to slide freely in a horizontal slot, l', provided in the The movement of the slide G cause the -die i to be drawn up with its poi-nt above the bottom of the punch d and forced down through the bottom of the said punch a distance somewhat greater than the intended depth of the shell or cup. The timing of the movements of the punch d and die e will be hereinafter explained in describing the operan is a steel plate attached to the plate I and extending over the dies c e to serve as a stripper to strip off from the punch d the plate c of copper or other metal, from which the blanks are cut. The latter plate, represented in red outline in Figs. 3 and 4, is fed under the said plate n, which prevents it from rising with the punch. This stripper has provided in it a hole, fn', of such size and so arranged that the -punch may pass freely through it without touching, and on the opposite side of the said hole n to that whence the plate is fed to the punch and dies there is a narrow slit, u2, for the entrance of the gage or stop p, by which the feeding in of the plate is regulated. The gage p consists of a straight upright rod working ver- 'tically through holes in the table B and dies c e, and furnished some distance below the said table with two tappet-collars, p p2, between which plays a horizontal tappet-arm, q, attached to a vertical rod, q', which is se- '4 cured to the punch-slide G, and which passes through a hole in Ythe table B. Under this gage p there is arranged a fixed rest, r, for controlling the downward movement of the This rest is y attached to a vertical rod, rf, secured by a set-screw, r2, and adjustable in a socket, r3, provided below the table B.

s is a stripper for stripping the-cupped shells from the male cupping-die z' after they have been formed and forced down by the -said die entirely through the female die c.

This stripper consists of a flat steel slide tted to slide horizontally in a dovetail-groove in the top of the table B and under the dies c c, and having its inner end hollowed out to fit .against one side'of the male cupping-die z'. The said stripper has appliedto it a spring, t, which is attached to one of the plates. I, and

which acts against a projection, t-, on the top *ofthel stripper to press it inward, the same projection also acting against the dies c e as a stop to .prevent the stripper from being forced in farther than is necessary. The hol lowed out inner end of the stripper s is beveled upward, to enable it to be easily pushed aside by t-he wedge-like action upon it of the bottom of the shell as the latter is forced Adownward through the die e and into the opening u of the table by the descent of the punchi in the cupping operation.

The operation of the machine is as follows. While the cutting-punch d is in its highest position, (shown in Fig. 4,) the die i rises toits highest position, (shown in the same figure,) the gage p at the same time rising up above the upper surface of the die c. The plate e, from which the blanks are to b'e cut, and which is of a width slightly greater than the diameter of the blanks, i's then fed forward under the punch from the opposite side of the die o to that on which the gage is situated, until it is stopped by the gage, and the revolution of the main shaft brings down the punch which cuts out the blank, carries it to the bottom of the die c, and then becomes stationary to hold it there while the die i, which commences to descend immediately after the punch, descends into the die e to produce the clipping operation.

As the die i descendsand forces the metal of the blank into the die e it gradually draws the edges of the blank from under the punch d toward the center, as shown in Fig. 5 but the pressure of the punch prevents the blank from crimping or buckling and Vinsures the formation of the sides of the shell of a uniform thickness all. round. The vertical adjustment of the table B enables the dies to be so set that the punch will .hold the blank with sufcient pressure, butnot so iirmly as to prevent it from being drawn into the die e by the action of the die i, and hence the liability to tear the blank and waste the stock is obviated. The die e descends not only far enough to withdraw the blank entirely from between-the punch and the bottom of the die c or top of the die e, but far enough tocarry the shell entirely throughvthe die e and below the edge of the stripper s, which, having been pushed aside by the pressure of the lower part of the shell upon its beveled inner end, is now caused by the pressure of the spring t to slip over the edge of the shell, so that when the diet' rises the shell will be pre- Avented from rising with it, and so be stopped oft' from it and caused to drop through the holeu. The punch and die t' rise together, but, owing to the lost motion of the tappetarm q between the tappet-collars p p2, the gauge p does not commence to rise with them, but remains supported on the rest fr until after the punch has risen toits full height, and is then lifted by the action ofv the arm g upon the collar p, as the upward movement of the slide G and rod g continue.

As the punch rises out of the hole in 'the plate n, from which it has cut a blank, the attendant pushes the said plate forward as far as permitted by the die i, and so brings the thin portion QJ', left beyond the hole, past the ,gage p, so that as the latter rises it will rise Within the said hole, and When the die 'i has been drawn entirely above the plate the latter will be permitted to move far enough to enable a new blank to be cut, in which position it is stopped by the back of the hole last cut coming in contact with the gage. As the die i makes its next descent the gage drops down to the rest r and entirely below the upper surface of the die c, so that it will not interfere with the succeeding feeding movement of the plate fu. p

I do not claim a mere blank-holder surrounding a male cuppingdie and operating in a countersink provided in a female cuppin gdie to hold the edges of a metal blank during the operation of cuppin g it; but

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isj 1. The combination, as described, in a machine for cutting out and cupping cartridge-` shells, of the punch d, dies i c e, and adjust able table B, the whole operating as and for TIMOTHY J. POWERS. Witnesses:

J .p W. GooMBs, GEO. W. REED. 

